The Black Swordsman

Chapter 21: The Seduction Fairy, Muma Pt. 2

1 Day Before Entering Sugou's VR World:

"You're going back...in that dreadful thing?" asked Agil's wife, pointing to the Nerve Gear.

Agil sighed and couldn't help but internally shiver at the idea of putting on the Nerve Gear, again. After all the pain the device had caused him and his wife...he never thought he would ever be willing to put it back on again but...his mind was already made.

"Agil, you barely made it out of that world with your life...hell, you lost a year of your life because of that thing. I never told you this but...when you were trapped in SAO, every day I had to be in this world without you...was dreadful. The constant worry and loneliness...I never want to experience something like that again."

Agil's wife hung her head low and took a deep breath before continuing.

"But, you have to, don't you?"

Agil gulped.

"Yeah, I do. We both know that I wouldn't be here right now if it wasn't for Kirito and Asuna. Without either of them, clearing that game would have been damn impossible. I...owe him everything. When I was in SAO, a part of me worried that I would never get to see you again. Kirito risked his life so I could and I'll never be able to thank him enough for that. We get to be together again...and yet, that poor kid had to wake up alone and find out that his partner hadn't woken up. He's been heartbroken for weeks...I heard he even tried to take his own life. When I saw him and Asuna in SAO it actually...reminded me of how we were back in high school."

Agil's wife, despite being terrified for her husband, managed to smile.

"Young love...it's always a sight to behold, isn't it? I'm aware that there's nothing I can say that will stop you and...I know, deep down, that I shouldn't. I can't lie to you...I'm going to worry...even if you say that you won't be risking your actual life this time, neither of us know the actual danger and risks associated with going back in that dreadful device."

"Kirito may be humble but he truly was the hero of SAO...if anyone deserves to be rewarded with happiness, it's him...and I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure he gets his happiness back", Agil claimed with determination in his voice.

"I know you are...glad to see that you're still a big softy. Just be careful, alright, and make sure you come back to me in one piece."

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Present:

The more Klein had to dodge, duck and roll out of the way, the more that it depleted his stamina. He was completely and utterly exhausted from his fight with Agil, who was at 45% health due to a couple more slashes of Klein's Katana. Despite not having taken a single blow from Agil during the entire fight, Klein knew that it would only take a single hit from his battle axe and Klein's health would immediately shoot down to 0%. He had to be careful.

Interrupting his train of thought, Agil swung his large battle axe right at Klein's head but Klein was able to block the attack with his katana. Unfortunately, there was so much force behind the strike that it sent Klein skidding backwards but he was able to stop himself, without falling down so his health was still unaffected. Klein could see Kazuto in the corner of his eye still struggling to pick himself up, after the brutal blow that he had suffered from Agil...the same for Lisbeth. As badly as he needed their help to fight Agil, Klein knew that it was up to him and Suguha, who was currently fighting the boss of the floor which was Muma.

Suguha sidestepped a slash from Muma's sharpened nails and managed to pierce her sword right through her opponent's stomach, taking a huge amount of health from the enemy's health bar, sending it down to 4%. Muma grabbed Suguha by the throat, instantly, and dug her fangs right into the girl's neck like an actual vampire would. Suguha screamed in both terror and pain. The vampire boss ripped her fangs out of her neck, after sucking out a large chunk of Suguha's blood. Before Suguha could counter attack, Muma backed away to a safe distance. While Suguha held the bloody wound on her neck, she analyzed Muma's health bar which had increased to 70% while hers' decreased to 35%.